City of Belgrade, Serbia – Serbia held a massive military parade in Belgrade on Thursday, showing tanks, missile systems and fighter jets, as officials described as the largest display of military power in the country’s history.
President Aleksandar Vucic The procession, which included about 10,000 soldiers, was reviewed, and he said the performance of force underlined Serbia’s ability to defend its independence and sovereignty and acted as a deterrent against any foreign aggressor. Most of Serbia is surrounded by NATO member states.
As the crowd waved the flag, a unit passed through the capital’s New Belgrade area while the plane roared.
The event, with domestically produced weapons and rocket launchers from Israel, drones purchased from the United Arab Emirates, and tanks provided by Russian and Chinese air defense systems, reflects Belgrade’s close ties with Moscow and Beijing, and despite their announcement of joining the European Union, it also reflects the Russian joint storage tanks.
Much of the attention of military experts is the Israeli Pulse System, a versatile rocket artillery platform capable of firing a variety of ammunition with different ranges and payloads. Its range is up to 300 km (185 miles), meaning it can reach most Balkan buildings.
Another surprising appearance is the French Air Force Rafale aircraft. Serbia has ordered 12 of these multi-function aircraft to be delivered in the coming years.
Critics say the march was intended to show the strength of the army, rather than support Vivich’s populist rule, which was challenged by student-led protests and an increasing international scrutiny of his growing authoritarian mastery of power.
Opposition leaders accused the government of using the Army as a political prop, while rights groups noted that some state employees were forced to attend the march and transported to hundreds of buses.
Hundreds of college students and other opposition supporters who have been protesting against corruption for more than 10 months vucic Riot police stopped his government from joining the other audience members of the march.
vucic Reject students’ requests for early parliamentary elections. Instead, he has cracked down on the protests, which have attracted hundreds of thousands of people over the past few months.
Anti-government protests first began last November after 16 people died after a refurbished train station in the northern city of Novi Sad fell. It ignited a national campaign to seek justice for victims and blamed corruption for tragedy.
